Heat exchange apparatus



March 11, 1941. J. 5. FRAZER HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 24. 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 g m mm my a 3 a a mm n RN @6 H g 0 \Q1 ow v m M J .3 a. F, 1 a a a J Q\ A Q F Q Q o ub MN; RN .w a Nx 3 a 1 MN orneg March 11, 1941.

J. S. FRAZER HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed Oct. 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zhwenfor Jlmay Jihvcer;

a! (Itto g Patented Mar. 11, 1941 UNITED STATES HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS James S. Frazer, Earleville, Md., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to York Ice Machinery Corporation, York, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application October 24, 1932, Serial No. 639,353

13 Claims.

This invention relates to heat exchange apparatus especially adapted for use in lowering the paratus of the general character described and claimed in my prior application, Serial No. 573,205. Generally speaking, the object of the invention is to provide a preferably portable, self-contained, automatic apparatus for the purpose stated which is of relatively simple, inexpensive design, which is strong and durable, and which is entirely practicable and thoroughly reliable and efllcient in operation.

Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention comprises a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of an evaporator or cooling unit and a condenser unit, and means for circulating air within a room or other enclosure about the evaporator or cooling unit to effect lowering of the air temperature; in which connection a special object of the invention is to provide novel means for effecting a cooling circulation of air from a source outside of the room or other enclosure about the condenser unit in order to render the apparatus efllcient in operation.

Another special object of the invention is to provide a novel construction whereby condensation water collecting on and dripping from the evaporator unit of the refrigerating mechanism is directed over-the condenser unit of said mechanism to assist in cooling the latter unit.

Another special object of the invention is to provide novel means for collecting the condensation water after it has passed over the condenser unit and imparted its cooling effect thereto, and for thereafter atomizing and directing the water into the path of the air circulated about the condenser unit to further assist in cooling said unit and to utilize the air circulated about said unit as a means of carrying off the water from the apparatus.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will become more fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as 'will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims,

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the difierent views:

Figure 1 isa vertical section through a heat exchange apparatus constructed in accordance with one practicable embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section through the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a wiring diagram illustrating the automatic control connections between the compressor and the air circulating motors of the apparatus; and

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 illustrating an alternative embodiment of the invention. 10

Referring in detail to the practicable embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings, it will be observed that the apparatus is inclusive of a preferably metallic casing A of rectangular, circular or other suitable 15 shape which is divided by a partition Ill into upper and lower compartments designated as a and a, respectively.

In the sides of the casing, directly above the partition ID, are formed louvers II for admission 20 of the air to be cooled into the lower part of the compartment a, while in the sides of the casing at the top of the .compartment a are formed louvers 12 for egress of the cooled air from said compartment. In this connection it will be noted 25 that the top of the casing A is illustrated in the present instance as being closed by a cover l3, but, if desired, the louvers l2 may be omitted and the top of the casing may be left open for the egress of the cooled air. Alternatively, a perforated 30 cover may be employed and the louvers l2 may be provided or may be omitted as desired. In any event, a pair of superimposed, vertically extending Venturi tubes I4 and'l5 are suitably provided within the compartment a above the air admission 35 louvers II, and within the expanding portion of the lower of these tubes is arranged the evaporator or cooling unit 16 of a refrigerating mechanism, while within the throat portion of the upper of said tubes is arranged a fan I! the func- 40 tion of which is to draw air into the compartment a through the louvers H, upwardly around the evaporator or cooling'unit, and to discharge the air, cooled by contact with the cooling unit, through the louvers l2. In this connection the 45 air in passing through the constricted portion of the lower Venturi tube and in expanding in the upper or expanding portion of said tube has a turbulent motion or atomizing effect imparted thereto, so that by locating the cooling unit IS in 50 the expanding portion of said tube there is reasonable assurance of all of the air being subjected to the cooling action of said unit. On the other hand, the lower portion of the upper Venturi tube assists the fan H in gathering theair from the 55 space between the Venturi tubes and serves to prevent the formation of dead air pockets in said space, thus assisting in obtaining efllcient cooling of the air by the cooling unit I 6. Moreover, the expanding portion of the upper Venturi tube causes the air to spread and to issue fronrthe top of the cabinet otherwise than as a blast. Thus, it will be apparent that with thecooling unit l8 maintained cool and the casing A disposed in a room or other inclosure with the fan H in operation, the air within the room or inclosure will be maintained cool by reason of being circulated through the compartment a.

If the casing A is closed at its top as illustrated in the present instance, a conical or pyramidical element I8 preferably is mounted within the compartment a at the top thereof with its apex disposed downwardly to assist in directing the cooled air outwardly through the louvers l2, and

in the event said element is employed the same may conveniently be utilized as shown as a support for the electric motor l9 which drives the fan H.

The lower compartment a of the casing A is provided to contain among other elements of the apparatus those parts, other than the cooling unit I 6, of the refrigerating mechanism previously referred to, and in this connection, in order to exclude from the upper compartment a the heat of the refrigerating mechanism parts contained within the lower compartment a the partition l0 either is formed from or is lined with suitable heat insulating material as indicated at 20. Moreover, it will be observed in this connection that a lining 2i spaced from the walls of the casing A is provided within the lower compartment a to confine the heat of the refrigerating mechanism within said lower compartment. Alternatively, and as is apparent, the lining 2| may be dispensed with and the walls of the casing defining the compartment a may belined with suitable heat insulating material. In either case, the said lower compartment (1' is formed at its rear with a pair of air inlet and vertical partition 25 which extends from the condenser unit 24 located at the rear of the compartment, forwardly to a point in spaced relationship to the front of the compartment, there- 'by providing within the compartment a passageway having an inlet portion 28 in communication with the air inlet opening 22 and an outlet portion 26' in communication with the air outlet opening 23.

Within either the inlet or the outlet portion of the passageway mentioned is mounted the compressor 21 of the refrigerating mechanism, while within the other portion of said passageway is mounted a compressor driving motor 28 which is operatively connected with the compressor in any suitable mannervas, for example, by means of a belt 29 as shown.

In the present instance the motor 23 is illustrated as being mounted within the passageway inlet portion 26 and as having a fan 23 mounted on the shaft thereof for drawing air into the lower compartment through the inlet opening 22,

while the compressor 21 is illustrated as being mounted within the passageway outlet portion 26' and as having a fan 30 built into the fly wheel 3! thereof over which the belt 29 operates for discharging air from the compartment through the outlet opening 23. In this'way provision is made for circulating air not only through or about the condenser unit 24 to maintain said unit cool, but 'also for circulating the same air about the compressor and its operating motor to maintain these parts cool.

It is important that the air utilized for cooling the condenser, the compressor and its operating motor, shall be taken from and returned to a source outside of the room or enclosure the air of which is being cooled by the apparatus, and to this end suitable flexible conduits 32 and 33 are provided for connecting the air inlet and outlet openings 22 and 23 with an outside source of air, as for example, through a window indicated at 34.

I The conduits 32, 33 preferably are formed at their inner ends for detachable connection with the casing A as by means of bayonet joints as.

illustrated in Figure l, and at their outer ends preferably are mounted in frames 35 and 36 which are adjustably connected together as indicated at 3'! whereby they may be made to fit window or other openings of different widths. Thus, by opening a window, adjusting the frames to fit the window opening, and then closing the window sash against the frames communication is established through the conduits 32, 33 between the lower compartment a' and the air outside of the room being cooled, and at the same time the cooled room air is prevented from escaping.

To rid the apparatus of condensation water collecting on and dripping from the cooling unit I6, and to utilize such water to assist in cooling the refrigerating mechanism parts contained within the lower compartment a constitutes one of the important purposes of the invention and is accomplished as follows: The partition element I0 which underlies the evaporator or cooling coil I6 is made of conical or pyramidical shape whereby water dripping onto the same from the evaporator or cooling coil gravitates into a trough 88 at the rear of said element overlying the condenser unit 2|. forated at its bottom as indicated at 39 whereby the water drips onto and imparts its cooling effeet to the condenser unit, and the bottom of th casing A is sloped downwardly to a sump 40 wherein the water collectsafter passing over the condenser unit.

If desired, a pipe may be provided to conduct the water from the sump 40, but preferably a small pump 4| is provided to be driven by the compressor or in any other suitable manner to take the water from the sump and deliver it to an atomizing device 42 located in one or the other of the passageway portions 26 or 26 whereby the water is picked up in atomized form by the air circulating through the passageway and delivered with the air through the outlet opening 23 and the outlet conduit 33.

Of course, suitable pipe connections 43, are provided between the compressor and the cooling unit and between the cooling unit and the condenser unit, and in the latter connection is interposed a regulating valve as indicated at 45. In addition, the compressor and its operating motor preferably are yieldably mounted to reduce vibration of the apparatus in operation,

This trough is perand the casing A preferably is mounted on. rollers 46 whereby it may readily be moved from one location to another.

As in my prior application hereinbefore referred to, the present apparatus preferably is inclusive of automatic control means as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. That is to say. a thermostatically operated switch 4'! is provided to control the operation of the driving motor 28 of the refrigerating mechanism, and a similar switch 49 is provided to control the operation of the fan motor I9, the associated thermostats (not shown in Figure 1 but designated in Figure 3 as t9 and 50, respectively) being suitably placed so as to be responsive to the temperature of the compartment a; and of the air in the room, respectively, and being connected as 11- lustrated in Figure 3, so that While the switch 48 for starting and stopping the fan motor l9 serves also to close and open the circuit to the refrigerating mechanism driving motor 28, the latter motor may be started and stopped by the switch ll while the'fan motor I9 continues to operate.

As little or no Water may drip from the evaporator or cooling unit l6 during operation of the refrigerating mechanism, and as most water in any event will drip from said unit during periods when the compressor is not operating, it may be desirable to provide for operation of the fans 29 and (it and of the pump 4| when the compressor is idle. If so, a motor 5| separate from the motor 28 may be provided for operating the pump ti and said fans 29, wand-this motor may be connected in the circuit between the motor l9 and the thermostatically operated switch 41, 49 so as to be controlled by the same thermostatically operated switch 48, 50 that controls operation of the fan motor l9, as illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings. Thus, while the fans 29, and the pump 4| will operate with the fan motor l9, and while opening and closing of the circuit to the motors l9 and 5| will serve also to open and close the circuit of the motor 28, the latter motor may be started and stopped by the switch 41, 49 while the motors l9, 5| continue to operate.

Obviously a single fan may be employed in lieu of the two fans 29, 30, and regardless of whether one Or more fans 29, 39 is or are provided, the same may be mounted in various different ways other than as illustrated in the present instance. 'It is not considered likely, owing to the infiltration of humid air into the room or other in-- closure in which the device may be operating, that the device will cause the removal of too much moisture from the air. However, in the event it should be necessary to supply moisture to the air being cooled, provision for this may be made by connecting a suitable vapor head 52 to the sump pump 4| and suitably arranging said vapor head to supply moisture to the air being circulated through the compartment a. Obviously, the vapor head 52 may be manually controlled or may be under the control of a humidostat.

The operation of the apparatus is believed to be apparent and is as follows: The motors for driving the fan 11, the compressor and the fan or fans 29, 30 and the pump 41 are connected with a source of current and both or all three, as the case may be, operate, thereby causing the evaporator unit to become cold and causing air to be drawn by the fan I! through the louvers l I,

up through the Venturi tubes 14 and I5 and.

over the evaporator unit I6 and to be expelled. through the louvers l2 in a cooled state. At the same time air is circulated by the fan or fans 29, 30 through the condenser unit and about the compressor and its driving motor to maintain these parts cool, and any water which drips from the evaporator unit is utilized in the manner stated to assist in cooling the condenser unit and is subsequently carried off by the air flowing through the outlet conduit 33.

Obviously the conduits 32, 33 may be flexible or may be composed of a plurality of adjustable interfitting tube or pipe sections. In either event they preferably are equipped at their outer ends with hoods 32', 33, respectively, to exclude rain and the like therefrom.

Fromthe foregoing description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings it is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will be clearly understood. It is desired to point out, however, that while only a single specific structural embodiment of the invention has been illustrated,

the invention is readily capable of embodiment in various difierent mechanical structures within the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described comprising a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of evaporator and condenser units, means for the circulation of air to be cooled about the evaporator unit, means for the circulation of cooling air about the condenser unit, means for directing waters of condensation collecting on and dripping from the evaporator unit over the condenser unit, and means for atomizing and directing the water, after its flow over the condenser unit, into the path of the cooling air circulated about the condenser unit.

2. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described comprising a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of evaporator and condensing units, means for the circulation of air to be cooled about the evaporator unit, means for the circu-. lation of cooling air about the condenser unit, an atomizer arranged to discharge into the path of the air circulated about the condenser unit, and means for collecting condensate from the evaporator unit and forcing it under pressure through said atomizer.

3. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described comprising a motor operated refrigerating mechanism inclusive of evaporator and condenser units, motor operated means for circulating air to be cooled about the evaporator unit, motor operated means for circulating cooling air about thecondenser unit and for atomizing waters of condensation collecting on and dripping from the evaporator unit and for directing the atomized water into the path of the cooling air circulated about the condenser unit, thermally responsive means for controlling the operation of the motor of said circulating means for air to be cooled and the motor of said cooling air circulating and water atomizing and d1- recting means, and thermally responsive means for controlling the operation of the motor of the refrigerating mechanism independently of said first mentioned motors.

4. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described comprising a casing divided into separate compartments, a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of an evaporator unit disposed withinone of said compartments and a condenser disposed within the other compartment, means for the circulation of air to be cooled through the first mentioned compartment and about the evaporator unit, means for the circulation of cooling air through the second mentioned compartment and through the condenser unit, and flow directing means within the second mentioned compartment disposed to assure that at least a major part of the air circulated therethrough passes inwardly through one portion of the condenser unit and outwardly through another portion thereof.

5. Heat exchangeapparatus of the character described comprising a casing divided into separate compartments, a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of an evaporator unit disposed within one of said compartments and a-condenser unit disposed within the other compartment, means for the circulation of air to be cooled through the first mentioned compartment and about the evaporator unit, means for the circulation of cooling air through the second mentioned compartment, said last named means comprising air inlet and outlet conduits connected with one side of the second mentioned compartment, the condenser unit having one portion thereof disposed in the path of the air entering through the inlet conduit and another portion thereof disposed in the path of the air escaping through the outlet conduit, and flow directing means within said second mentioned compartment requiring the air to travel in a curved path inwardly through the first mentioned portion of the condenser unit and outwardly through the second mentioned portion thereof.

6. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described, comprising a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of evaporator and condenser units; means for the circulation of air t9 be. cooled about the evaporator unit; means for the circulation of cooling air about the condenser unit; means for directing water of condensation collectlng on and dripping from the evaporator unit, over the condenser unit; and means for atomizing and directing such water after its flow over .the condenser unit into the path of said cooling air after said air has exchanged heat with a portion only of the condenser unit.

7. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described comprising a casing divided into separate compartments; a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of an evaporator unit disposed within one of said compartments, and a condenser disposed within the other compartment; means for the circulation of air to be cooled through the first compartment and about the evaporator unit; means for the circulation of the cooling air through said other compartment and through the condenser unit; flow directing means arranged to ensure that at least a major portion of the air circulated through the said other compartment passes through one portion of said condenser unit and then through another portion thereof; and means for collecting moisture condensing on said evaporator, and for spraying said moisture into air flowing in said other compartment from the first to the second portion of said condenser.

8. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described comprising a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of evaporator and condenser units; means for the circulation of air to be cooled about the evaporator unit; means for circulating cooling air in two successive passes over diflerent portions of the condenser; means for directing water of condensation from the evaporator unit over at least a portion of the condenser unit; and means for spraying at least a portion of such water into the cooling air between said successive passes.

9. Heat exchange apparatus of the character described comprising a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of evaporator and condenser units; means for the circulation of air to be cooled about the evaporator unit; means for circulating cooling air in two successive passes over different portions of the condenser; and means for collecting at least a portion of moisture condensing on said evaporator, and for spraying it into said cooling air between said successive passes.

10. A room cooler comprising, in combination, a condenser and evaporator, refrigerating mechanism operatively connected thereto, means for circulating outside air inwardly of said unit and thence over said condenser and back to the outside, means for circulating room air over said evaporator, means for collecting condensate from said evaporator, a condensate pump, and means whereby said pump elevates condensate from said collecting means and sprays the condensate into the outflowing path of outside air.

11. A heat exchange apparatus of the character described, comprising a casing; a partition dividing said easing into upper and lower compartments; a refrigerating mechanism inclusive of an evaporator unit disposed within the upper compartment and a condenser unit disposed within the lower compartment; means for circulating air to be cooled through the upper compartment in heat exchange relation with the evaporator unit; means for circulating cooling air through the lower compartment in heat exchange relation with the' condenser unit; a dripdispersing trough associated with said partition, said partition being shaped and disposed to intercept and direct to the trough, water of condensation collecting on and dripping from the evaporator unit, and the trough overlying the condenser unit, whereby drip discharged by the trough gravitates over and imparts a cooling effect to the condenser unit; and means for atomizing and directing water after its flow over the condenser unit into the path of the cooling air.

12, A heat exchange apparatus of the character described, comprising a casing; a partition dividing said easing into upper and lower compartments; a refrigerating mechanism inclusive oi an evaporator unit disposed within the upper compartment and compressor and condenser units disposed within the lower compartment; means for circulating air to be cooled through the upper compartment in heat exchange relation with the evaporator unit; means for circulating cooling air through the lower compartment in heat exchange relation with the compressor and condenser units; a drip-dispersing trough associated with said partition, said partition being shaped and disposed to intercept and direct to the trough, water of condensation collecting on and water after its flow over the condenser unit into the path of flow of the cooling air circulated about the condenser unit; and a motor for driving said compressor and said. spraying means.

JAMES S. FRAZER. 

